It's time for the semifinals here at $10K Columbus. Gabe Walls and Kyle Montgomery both hail from Indianapolis, the site of the first Vs. System Pro Circuit, and neither are strangers to competitive play. Both said that they don’t really playtest together—they usually just pick up decks they know are good and play them. Today, Gabe is piloting a metagamed Teen Titans build, complete with Foiled and Betrayal. Kyle, on the other hand, is playing the ever-present Curve Sentinels, counting on the awesome power of the two great tastes that taste great together, Bastion and Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Kyle won the die role and started with the initiative.

Kyle started the curve with Boliver Trask, searching up a Sentinel Mark III. Gabe Optitroned away Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal to get Red Star. He took some Boliver beats. Kyle 50, Gabe 49.

Gabe started turn 2 by considering his hand for a long time before Optitroning away another Roy to get a third Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal. Kyle commented that he had no idea why Gabe would do that, but he accepted it because he had to and played a Sentinel Mark III. Gabe took 3. Kyle 50, Gabe 46.

Turn 3 saw Kyle laying a Sentinel Mark II and setting up Boliver Trask in front of the Mark III. Gabe boosted Hank Hall ◊ Hawk to get out Dawn Granger ◊ Dove, putting her behind Hawk. The Mark II swung into Hawk and powered up twice. Gabe reinforced and took 2. Then the Mark III attacked Dove, and they traded. Boliver laid some more beats. Kyle 48, Gabe 42.

Gabe opened turn 4 with Red Star and put him behind Hawk. Kyle played a Sentinel Mark V and put it and the Mark III in the back, with Boliver protecting the Mark III and the Mark II in front of the Mark V. Gabe considered his options for a while before swinging Red Star into the Mark II. Kyle took 3. Hawk then went into the Mark V, and Gabe played a Savage Beatdown. Kyle Overloaded Hawk, and Gabe flipped Hawk over with a sigh. The Mark V then flew into Red Star and they traded, allowing the Mark III and Boliver to beat for more. Kyle 41, Gabe 32.

Kyle continued the curve with Nimrod on turn five, setting everyone up in the front row. Gabe played Garth ◊ Tempest and back-rowed both his guys. The Mark V and the Mark III team attack into Garth. Gabe powered up Garth twice. Kyle played Savage Beatdown on his Mark V, and Gabe uses Garth’s ability to bring back Hawk. Then Garth and the Mark V traded. Next, Nimrod attacked into Red Star, and Gabe used Titans Tower, pitching a Tim Drake ◊ Robin. Red Star stunned and Nimrod lost his counter. Then, Boliver beat in for one more. Kyle 37, Gabe 16.

Gabe opened turn 6 with a boosted Hawk for Dove, then played Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal and considered his setup before putting Hawk in front of Roy and Dove in front of Garth. Kyle’s sweet curve was brought to halt when turn 6 saw the replacement of Boliver Trask with another Boliver Trask to search up another Sentinel Mark V with boost. Kyle commented that he was sure it was the wrong setup as he put the Mark III in front of the 7 ATK/7 DEF Mark V, Boliver in front of the boosted Mark V, and Nimrod in the front off to the side. Gabe sent the whole team into Nimrod and played Teen Titans Go! from his hand. Dove pumped Roy, and Hawk tried to pump Roy. Kyle halted the pumping to think about responding, but ultimately, he let it happen. Garth pumped Roy and Roy stunned Nimrod, KO’ing a Savage Beatdown. Everyone readied. Dove attacked Boliver, but he had a Nasty Surprise for her and they traded. Hawk attacked the Mark III, and Kyle took 2. Then, Garth attacked the unboosted Mark V. Kyle commented that he definitely messed up his setup and took 4 more. Then, the huge Roy attacked the boosted Mark V and they traded. Gabe considered the board, and Kyle suggested, “Teen Titans Go!, double Finishing Move? Or is he wondering whether paying 3 to pick something up is worth it?” Gabe decided it was not. Kyle 21, Gabe 12.

On turn 7, Kyle rolled his eyes and revealed his drawn Bastion, commenting that he had Magneto, Master of Magnetism, but wasn’t sure which was the better play. He played Magneto, KO’d a Genosha, and then moved Magneto and the Mark V to the front row. Gabe considered his KO’d pile for a while and started doing the math. Kyle commented, “I think I’ll just let Gabe decide who wins, it’ll be easier.” Gabe then grumbled something about Overloading before buying back Red Star, played him and Tim Drake ◊ Robin and put them all in the back row. The Mark V began an attack, but everyone but Tim exhausted to pump Roy, and Roy stunned the Mark V. Then, Magneto swung into Hawk, and Gabe played Press the Attack to ready Garth and reinforce the attack. Tim Drake delivered a Finishing Move on the Mark V. Hawk could not be recovered, and it was on to turn 8. Kyle 17, Gabe 7.

Gabe used USS Argus, and then played a boosted Tim Drake after using the one already in play to pump Roy. He then used Red Star to dome Kyle for 5, and moved his whole team to the front row. Kyle played Bastion and put him behind Magneto. Gabe sent the whole team into Magneto, and Kyle powered up Magneto three times and used Bastion to boost Magneto three more times. Kyle played a Cover Fire and followed it with a Reconstruction Program and three more pumps. Gabe played Savage Beatdown, and it was all over.

Montgomery 0, Walls 1

Game 2 started with Gabe taking a mulligan and with Kyle on the initiative. Both players missed their 1-drop. Kyle 50, Gabe 50.

On turn 2, Gabe played Tim Drake ◊ Robin, but Kyle still had no play. Kyle 48, Gabe 50.

Kyle missed a drop again on turn 3 . . . so much for his curve. Gabe flipped and used USS Argus before boosting Dawn Granger ◊ Dove to get Hank Hall ◊ Hawk. He swung into Kyle for 8 more. Kyle 40, Gabe 50.

On turn 4, Gabe used the Argus before playing a resource, then played Terra and put her behind Tim Drake. Hawk and Dove remained up front. Kyle finally hit a drop with a Sentinel Mark V. Gabe sent Terra, Dove, and Tim into the Mark V, and Kyle double Acrobatic Dodged for no stun. Gabe then played a Teen Titans Go! and repeated the attack. Tim redirected the stun to Dove, and Hawk attacked with a Tamaran activation for 5 more. Kyle 31, Gabe 49.

Kyle admitted on turn 5 that he kept a hand of Dodge, Dodge, Bastion, Magneto, Master of Magnetism, but then drew two more Bastions. His turn 5 plays were a Sentinel Mark II and a Sentinel Mark III. Gabe activated Argus again, then played Garth. The Mark V attacked into Terra. Terra activated targeting the Mark II, but the Mark II activated and pitched a Bastion to counter it. Gabe used Tamaran on Terra, Kyle played Savage Beatdown, and they traded. The Mark III went into Dove, and Dove Finishing Moved the Mark V. They traded. Garth plowed into the Mark II, and Hawk and Tim swung in. Kyle 4, Gabe 36.

Gabe began turn 6 by activating Argus, Optitroning for Red Star and playing him, and doming Kyle for 5. Kyle played Bastion. The whole team swung in, and Kyle Cover Fired, powered up, used Reconstruction Program, powered up three more times, played another Reconstruction Program, powered up another three times, and then extended his hand.

Gabe Walls defeats Kyle Montgomery two games to none.